Yggdrasil (3-45)
Paaat! Kreeee! Saaak…
"It's working!"
With Han Bom's shout, one zombie began crumbling away into ash, vanishing pathetically.
I'd had some expectations, but what she was showing now went beyond them.
Recovery skills weren't like other magic—they didn't guzzle mana like crazy.
The fact that she could neutralize zombies just by casually using it made it an insane ability.
Han Bom got excited and started spamming the skill everywhere.
Efficiency that put my archery to shame.
Just stretching out her hand and activating the skill was enough to reduce zombies to ash effortlessly.
I watched her and said,
"That's enough now. I'll take over again."
"Huh? But if I can fight, I should…"
"No. Stay back as much as possible, Han Bom. Jump in when I give the signal. Save your strength until then."
"Oh…"
She nodded right away at my words, though she looked a bit disappointed.
Truth be told, up until now, Han Bom had been in the same useless position as Han Yeoreum.
The party members hadn't gotten hurt much, and on top of that, they auto-healed once the wave ended.
So when a chance to shine suddenly came her way, she must have been itching to step up.
"You can see it already, but they're multiplying way faster than before. Hold out until I signal you."
"…Got it!"
Finally convinced, she nodded firmly with a resolute expression.
In the final stretch, I should give her a moment to shine.
Someone like Han Bom wouldn't wallow in feelings of uselessness, but every now and then, she needed a situation where she could feel useful.
And in the end, the most useless one left here was just one person.
"Grrooo…"
Even Han Yeoreum, who seemed scared of zombies right now for once, had ditched her pride and was huddled with the three-girl group behind me, keeping watch in all directions.
Her behavior wasn't a huge problem even if it was annoying to watch.
The issue was that she couldn't just quietly keep watch…
"They're coming from behind! Behind us!"
"…"
"They're coming! Coming!!"
If a cute girl freaked out like that, it might even refresh my mood, but this bitch just made me irritated.
And when I checked the zombies she was yapping about, they were shambling from way off in the distance.
Still a long way to go.
"Please shut up for once! Su-ho's got it all handled—why are you making such a fuss and getting in the way!?"
"I-Interfering!? They're right there!"
"Haa… I really hate you."
"What!? You little…"
As Han Yeoreum panicked and started to curse, I clamped my hand over her mouth.
"You, be quiet."
"…"
She shut her trap like a dead mouse and finally went silent.
Thankfully, she didn't make any more noise after that.
…
…
The defense proceeded smoothly after that.
Even Min Hayeon, who at first hesitated to shoot arrows at what used to be human, eventually started landing headshots and killing them herself.
Han Bom hung back, using her recovery skill on any that closed the distance enough to purify them.
The three girls got frustrated at the slow shamblers and offered to fight, but I shot it down.
The word "safety" got them to nod and behave.
But even "safety" started feeling shaky as time wore on.
[Wave intermission ongoing]
"What!? No way, two hours this time!?"
The timer kept ticking without stopping—we'd seen this before.
Just like when it stretched from 30 minutes to an hour.
We were all exhausted, on the verge of collapsing from fatigue, and now the time suddenly extended. No wonder everyone felt uneasy.
On top of that, the zombies appearing started changing form a lot.
"Is it my imagination, or are they faster than before?"
"No… they're faster."
The charging ones' footsteps were twice as quick as before.
I spammed arrows and yelled to Han Bom,
"Han Bom! From now on, hit anything that crosses the red line behind us with recovery!"
"Got it!"
I'd drawn a red line on the ground beforehand, just in case before the wave started.
The dead line.
The point where even Min Hayeon and I couldn't handle them, and Han Bom had to step in.
Despite the urgency, Han Bom's voice brimmed with energy at the thought of contributing, and she began firing off recovery skills.
"Die!"
Paaat! Kreeeek!
It didn't sound like dialogue from a healer no matter how you sliced it, but I chuckled it off and kept fighting.
And that endless-seeming battle did eventually end.
Min Hayeon and I collapsed onto the mats the three girls had set up behind us, gasping for breath.
"Haa… haa… haa… D-Done…"
"Haa… This is no joke."
14th Wave in
03:59:41
"You two, great job."
"Unnie, mister. You guys were awesome."
With just the final wave left, the four of them started cheering us on in earnest.
It wasn't empty words.
Sincerity filled them.
Bonds thicken between those who face danger together.
Time passed like that, bringing us to the brink of the last wave.
"Alright… final one. Everyone, focus up."
"Yes."
We all nodded and fixed our eyes on the green gem in the center.
The number 2 in front, followed by a 0, and the rapidly dwindling two-digit timer.
10… 09… 08…
The numbers dwindled to where they couldn't go lower, and finally…
[Final Wave imminent]
The moment the time hit, we tore our eyes from the gem and scanned the surroundings.
But…
"…What?"
Even after two hours ticked by, nothing happened around us.
But we all knew.
"…Be careful. Something's definitely coming."
The party members nodded at Han Bom's words, staying alert as they looked around.
And while we were all on guard…
Ruuuumble…
The ground began to shake, and we all panicked like when the zombies first appeared, yelling out.
"Wh-What!? The ground's shaking all of a sudden!"
"M-Mister!"
"S-Su-ho!"
"Everyone, calm down!"
"Uwaaaak!"
The five women, including Min Hayeon and Han Bom, clustered around me.
Th-This is more dangerous!
They'd instinctively rushed over in fright, but in this formation, we couldn't react fast if enemies popped out.
Thankfully, the quake subsided quickly, and silence fell.
"Wh-What was that?"
"Everyone, look around. Something's coming for sure."
We scanned the surroundings, me included with the women clinging to me.
And that's when it happened.
Han Yeoreum suddenly screamed in horror.
"Uh… Uh! U-Uhhh!"
"What? What's wrong?"
I glared at her irritably, and the others did too.
After all her previous freakouts, her voice was grating on everyone.
But I snapped to attention and looked where she pointed.
The other women's gazes followed her finger too.
And the direction she pointed to was…
"Ev-Everyone, back off!!"
The green gem we'd been facing away from.
Krrruuurrr…
The massive green gem began writhing grotesquely, swelling larger.